From time to time I wonder how much I really understand voter behavior. (See here.) It’s reassuring to know that feeling is shared by lefty bloggers as well, and I’d note that what drives Chris Bowers batty is likely to bring smiles to the faces of fans of John McCain:

Surge architect and ultra-hawk John McCain is apparently the voter’s favorite candidate to carry out their desired policy of withdrawal from Iraq. Even 12% of Democrats consider him the candidate who would do the best job of handling the situation in Iraq, even though only 1% of Democrats favor McCain’s policy of increased troop levels in Iraq. This massive disconnect between candidates and policy makes me want to scream. How can voters favor a policy of withdrawing from Iraq, and yet think that a candidate who wants to send more troops to Iraq would be the best suited to handle the situation in Iraq? I suppose it is possible that voters don’t know candidate positions on Iraq, but how can voters, especially likely voters in New Hampshire, not know McCain’s position on Iraq yet? That seems virtually impossible. Instead of ignorance, I think it is more likely that many voters don’t trust themselves on Iraq, and are willing to defer their judgment on the subject to someone else. I find that obsequious attitude to elite authority figures repugnant. This is very disheartening. If voter education in one of our smallest and most heavily targeted states on the biggest issue of our time is this difficult, or even rendered impossible because of the willingness of so many people to set aside their own judgment, then what is to be done? Perhaps I am over-reacting, but even if I am it doesn’t make me all that excited to go stand outside in fairly cold weather for another several hours. Quite frankly, any notion that voters make decisions based on rational connections between candidates and the policies they espouse needs to be abandoned.

One theory – twelve percent of New Hampshire Democrats believe a) McCain would get the troops out, and is simply campaigning as a hawk to get elected or b) even though they disagree with his policy, they have enough respect for McCain’s unique experience in the military to trust his judgment or c) they trust this policy with McCain in the Oval Office, but not with any other contender.

Either way, the voters never seem to do what we political junkies think they ought to.